Savas Manoussakis
Counsel
Areas of Focus
- Antitrust & International Competition
- Antitrust Mergers & Acquisitions
- EU/UK Competition
- International Trade
- Telecom, Media & Technology
- Technology
- Energy & Infrastructure
- Infrastructure & Transportation
- Over a decade of experience advising global clients on all aspects of UK, EU and international competition law.
- Successfully obtained merger control and FDI screening clearances in over 20 jurisdictions around the world for complex transactions across a wide range of sectors.
- Advised on complex and strategically important antitrust investigations, with extensive experience in pharmaceuticals, digital platforms regulation and e-commerce antitrust enforcement. Savas’ approach is pragmatic and informed by a thorough understanding of his clients and their business objectives.
Savas regularly acts for leading private equity and corporate clients in relation to merger control and foreign direct investment (FDI) screening proceedings before the United Kingdom, European Union (EU), Chinese and other competition authorities, in sectors including digital markets, telecoms, pharmaceuticals, transport and industrial manufacturing. Prior to joining Akin, Savas played a major role in the establishment of his prior firm’s FDI practice.
Savas successfully represents clients in a wide range of critical and complex antitrust cases, including cartel and abuse of dominance investigations, Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) market investigations, litigation before the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal and the High Court, and digital platforms regulation.
Savas has established antitrust compliance programs for major clients across numerous industries, regularly advising clients on their distribution arrangements and on antitrust compliance more broadly.
Prior to joining Akin, Savas worked in the London antitrust teams of two leading international law firms and has served in roles in the Competition Law and Policy Division of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and in the Appellate Body Secretariat of the World Trade Organization.
Savas holds an LLM in international competition law and has taught LLB and LLM seminars on Competition in Digital Markets at King’s College in London.
International Merger Control
- DigitalBridge in obtaining merger control and FDI approvals for its acquisition of 51% of the mobile telecommunications tower business of Deutsche Telekom, valued at USD 17.5 billion, as well as on numerous other transactions in the telecoms, fibre and data infrastructure sectors in the UK and in the rest of Europe.
- Black Diamond Capital Management in obtaining EU merger control and international FDI clearances for its USD 425 million acquisition of the phenolic specialty resins business of Hexion.
- Ares Capital Management in obtaining international merger control clearances for its USD 484 million sale of SVP Worldwide, a consumer sewing machine company which owns the Singer brand, among others.
- Cyrus Capital Partners, Virgin Atlantic and Stobart Air in obtaining EU merger control clearance for the acquisition of the destressed regional UK airline Flybe, including obtaining and implementing a rare derogation from the European Commission (EC) to allow the clients to complete the transaction prior to clearance.
- TAWAL in obtaining merger control clearance for its USD 1.34 billion acquisition of certain European telecom tower assets of United Group, and on the international merger control and FDI aspects of other proposed transactions.
LanguagesGerman
German
EducationL.P.C., BPP University Law School, England, 2011
LL.M., London School of Economics and Political Science, 2008
LL.B., University of Kent, 2007
P.G.D.L., King's College, London, 2016
L.P.C., BPP University Law School, England, 2011
LL.M., London School of Economics and Political Science, 2008
LL.B., University of Kent, 2007
P.G.D.L., King's College, London, 2016
Bar AdmissionsSolicitor, England and Wales
Solicitor, England and Wales
- “CMA Report on Artificial Intelligence may Lead to Greater Competition Control,” Law360, October 2023.
- “Inside The New UK National Security Guidance for Deals,” Law360, November 2021.
- “Chambers Global Practice Guides: Cartels 2019 UK,” 2019.
- “Access to Evidence in Market Investigations,” in the Competition Law Journal, Vol. 13, Issue I at 72, C. Brown, D. Bailey & S. Long eds., Jordan Publishing Limited, 2014.
- “Liberalization of the EU Electricity Market: Enough to Power Real Progress? Analysis of Ownership Unbundling and the Project for Liberalization of the European Union Electricity Market” World Competition Volume 32, Issue 2, pp. 227 – 247, 2009.
